Disabled Girl Dating Sim Katawa Shoujo Finally Available

[Riobux]

First of all, in a way that it would require rebooting the entire plot and the world. That would be like making a sequel to "American History X", but this time with arabs instead of black people. It would treat the actual story about Derek, and Danny, and all that was interesting about it, as irrelevant, compared to a "random sociological discussion of the episode".

You're correct, if it was going to follow the same character.

Second, just like this previous analogy also shows, it would also play up the feeling that the actual theme was just a gimmick. Like, if you would hear about such a movie, you would probably feel that the previous film was also exploitative, all there is to know about it is that "It was the one about black people". Likewise, this Visual Novel already misunderstood as fetishist pandering, and objectifying disabled people. Treating other disabilites as expansion packs, would just enforce this.

Yes, I guess talking about mental illness is a bit of a gimmick...

Third, The medium isn't really appropriate for expressing mental disabilities. The character visuals are static pictures, and the plot is heavily dialogue based. Movie actors get oscars for playing mentally disabled characters, becase they can still act out all the emotional range of a disabled person, facial expressions, and all, demonstrating how human they are, but a dialouge-based story with the would sound.... well... retarded.

Depends on art style, animation style, so on.

Fourth, romance with mentaly disabled people is controversial in and of itself, not just depending on the portrayal, but even in real life.

Controversial, and therefore should not be done. Nice.

 

[NeutralDrow]

I don't usually comment on anything, but I do have to say I am disappointed with this game. Mainly because it does not feel like a game.
Going into it, given that it was described as a "dating sim" in the article, I assumed that It'd play much like a role-playing game where i'd be able to make decisions and be able to create different and meaningful relationships with the characters involved. However, now having finished the game, it appears that the game doesn't wish you to do that.

That's because people tend to use "dating sim" and "visual novel" interchangably, even when it's a laughably inaccurate mistake.

That's part of why you'll see the tons of comments in this thread correcting the article and other people on it.

Do you plan on doing a user review of Katawa Shoujo too?

Absolutely. It'll probably be a little while, though. I'm not especially far into the game, I tend to play only a couple of hours a day, and my writing style is basically "a few paragraphs, lose my focus for a day or so, a paragraph, lose focus, rewrite a few sentence, get distracted, etc." On inspiration, basically. I once finished a game in June and had <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.252998-Neutral-Drow-reviews-Princess-Waltz>a review out in December...which was enough time to play and review <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.237875-Neutral-Drow-reviews-Crescendo>a different game entirely.

However, you'll probably see a review by Deskimus Prime pretty soon. He mentioned that he just finished it lately (damn, everyone seems to have more time than I do), and he tends to turn out work pretty fast.

I've never completed a visual novel before (though I read a lot of non-visual novels ) so I'd be interesting in seeing what someone with a ton of experience in the genre thinks about it, as I'm really liking it.

I'm really liking it, too. It's definitely got that intangible quality that draws me in (that all my favorites so far have possessed), and the characterization and dialogue so far is as strong as I could possibly have asked for. I'll wait to see what the rest is like, but I certainly have high hopes.

 

[MyNameIsNowNotMyName]

Huh. This game is a lot deeper than I thought it would be
And Psychic Spies are also the scariest damn thing I've heard of in my entire life.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

Secondly, if it includes sex scenes and is distributed entertainment doesn't that make it pornographic? Or at least erotic material, if you want to be really pedantic, though it's hardly helping your argument which I'm still not quite sure what it is. It seems like you are just defending a game you happened to like.

By your logic, every film is pornographic if they features one sex scene. Sex is not the point of Katawa Shoujo, the scenes are actually very short by visual novel standards (saying this as someone who has played many).

"Interactive porno" would imply you decide everything about sex, sex was not the main idea behind the creation or production of Katawa Shoujo.

And I think that I could be forgiven for thinking that a game with what appears to be a Japanese title is Japanese. But at this point you are just trying to point out technicalities.

Except if you read the article you would have known otherwise.

And lastly, if my opinion is uniformed it?s because I, as said, haven?t played the game. Nor did I say I was informed on the subject so if you want to debate the content of this game so desperately I?d suggest you try to find someone else.

You claim that it's a bad way to handle the issue, how would know if you haven't tried it?

I don?t have to play the bloody game to have the right to say that I think this is an awful way of handling a delicate issue, given its genre alone.

Sure you can think it is, but can you back it up in any way? That's what made your statement annoying to alter-ego

And I?m pretty much that most experts and people within the disabled community would agree. Nor do I think that they?d be particularly impressed with a few gamers claiming that it actually has a, what did you call it, a romantic storyline?

Do you claim to know the disabled community well? I think you should know that plenty of disabled people play videogames.

And since you push me, I will reveal them and the truth is that I find all these dating simulator games pretty gross to begin with.

Then you're best off just saying that instead of hiding your dislike among a series of self-righteous and absurd arguments. It's not good to be dishonest with yourself.

 

[Beautiful End]

I don't know. I get that he had a serious heart condition. But still, he's Superman compared to the other girls there...and he obviously has no problem with sex. But I digress. >_>;
.

You would get this impression if you only played Emi's route. Lilly's route (which is the most polished of the routes - it's the only one with a post-credit ending) has Hisao's heart problems giving him major problems three times. MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

Spoiler

1. When Hisao, Lilly and Hanako go on a trip to Hokkaido, their shopping excursion is cut short by Hisao's condition acting up. This does trigger a sequence of events that trigger one of the more heartwarming (pun unintended) scenes in the game.

2. The third time Hisao and Hanako have sex, his condition cuts his fun short

3. The "endgame" of Act 4, if you've gotten the good end.

Speaking of the Lilly route, while Hanako's route is my personal favorite, Lilly's route is IMHO the most romantic of the routes. It's the route that gives you warm and fuzzy feelings (shorthanded to WAFF for the uninitiated) that linger long after you finish the route. And if you get the Good End... the way the entire thing was set up glued an ear-splitting grin to my face that lasted for hours.

Is that so? Hmmmm...

*Starts a new game. Takes Lilly's route*

So then...Hisao is either healthier or sicker depending on who he ends up with? If that's the case, then that's interesting.

On another note, I was actually happy with Emi's ending. It was also heartwarming and it just felt right.

Curse that game!

 

[Custard_Angel]

I've always said that I hate Japan.

This changes nothing. This makes my hatred of all things Japanese that little bit more solid.

Nothing that comes out of Japan earns my respect these days...

 

[Lovely Mixture]

I've always said that I hate Japan.

This changes nothing. This makes my hatred of all things Japanese that little bit more solid.

Nothing that comes out of Japan earns my respect these days...

Anyone care to count how many people didn't read the article?

 

[deidara]

Accidently deleted my save. Thought I was saving it, but actually loaded my 20 mins played file over my 90 mins played file >_>. N00b I know. Anyways I actually like the girls, and Kenji(think that's his name) is hilarious. It's your character I hate. He's such an angsty little *****. Given you only control 5% of what he says it can get annoying.

 

[Marcus Kehoe]

Ok did a little review of this but now finished a play-through.

Really good game, This game hits the thinking and dialogue spot on.I haven't been this drawn in to a game of this type since "FATE/STAY NIGHT" or "A DRUG THAT MAKES YOU DREAM". A really great experience that takes what many see as in issue and accepts it. Dose not avoid the issue, doesn't exploit it just takes and makes a story where it would mot likely play out.

I can really only recommend this game.

 

[Mudze]

So, the gist of this thread is that half of the people seem interested or okay with it, and the others had a kneejerk reaction.

People going off at 'positive discrimination', because 'why are all these disabled people in the one class' should have done a slight amount of research before opening their traps.

The ones pissed off at discrimination against disabled people should take a good hard look at themselves and slam their faces into some doors.

Think before you talk people, goddamn.

 

[Suijen]

I can sort of understand the appeal behind it. I'm imaging the dating sim goes:

Girl: "But I'm (insert deformity), no one can ever love me!"
Boy: "But I will, because you're still beautiful to me"

I'm sure that some dating sims allow the player to take control of the white in shining armor. I think doing it for a woman with a disability just makes your armor even shinier.

 

[Alterego-X]

Thirdly, if you are able to click, choose character, choose dialog, etc, it's probably interactive now isn't it? And I think that I could be forgiven for thinking that a game with what appears to be a Japanese title is Japanese. But at this point you are just trying to point out technicalities.

The point is, that as it was said several times earlier in the thread, that it's not actually a dating sim. It's only thing to do with dating sims is, that it happens to use a Visual Novel format, that sometimes dating sims also use. Along with crime mysteries, romantic tragedies, sci-fi adventures, horrors, and comedies, that are also written in that format, where there is no actual simulated dating in it, the few choices are pretty much an overglorified main menu.

But you're right about him wasting time on me. My original comment, that I think this whole thing is a darn bad idea, is not some kind of political statement or argument, or an invention to a debate for that matter. It's a personal opinion and one that has yet to change. And I have my reason for thinking what I think.

The reason why I started arguing with you, instead of the other random dismissive commenters, is that you specifically used the terms "insensitive" and "worst way to handle the issue", that is in direct contrast with EVERYONE's statement that it is sensitively handled. This implied that you are theoretically ok with handling the issue of romance with disabled people, but you have some specific misconceptions about how it is handled here.

And I was partially right, you had misconceptions about it being a porno, or a dating sim. Except that instead of believeing the clarification from people who actually know better than you, you just started grasping into straws about how even if it's 99% plot 1% sex, that's still technically a porno (condemning every second novel, Hollywood movie, and even some video games like Mass Effect to the same judgement, by proxy), and about how if you can click on which basic novel-lenght plotline to read, that's still technically a simulation.

Basically, your opinion about "this vulgar genre" is directed at any Visual Novel (stories based on background image + text), that also dares to use sex scenes like any other medium.

 

[Uliana]

I can sort of understand the appeal behind it. I'm imaging the dating sim goes:

Girl: "But I'm (insert deformity), no one can ever love me!"
Boy: "But I will, because you're still beautiful to me"

I'm sure that some dating sims allow the player to take control of the white in shining armor. I think doing it for a woman with a disability just makes your armor even shinier.

Katawa Shoujo doesn't proceed in that fashion however, since the main character is himself beset by disability. A couple of the routes deals with the fact that the main character has to rely on others to cope with his own condition both physical and psychological, since his is the only condition among the named characters that could actually kill him.

Another thing is that the girls themselves don't actually make a big deal about their respective deformities, and their "defects" are not the reason for the main character to interact with them.

Also, the "White Knight in Shining Armor" concept is actually deconstructed in one of the routes, and very effectively I might add, i.e. acting like such to the characters gets you the bad endings. One of those bad endings really hits that lesson home in an emotionally painful manner.

Finally, this is not a Dating Sim, this is a Visual Novel. It's like calling an apple an orange: sure they're both fruits and somewhat sweet, but they're nothing alike. A dating sim as its name suggests is a game whose goal is to simulate dating a girl. A visual novel is an interactive book with pictures and music. The former is a gaming genre, the latter is a storytelling medium.

 

[Selef]

When i stumbled across this game it piqued my interest as i had nothing better to do & it seemed like an interesting concept to base a visual novel around. So i downloaded it and i started playing immediatly getting sucked in to the amazing story and characters, with the path i ended up doing (Lilly's) being intense & brilliant with it having points i forgot completly about her blindness, the ending itself as cliched as it was heartwrenching for me.

But my opinion on those who write this off as a something for a niche fetish audience are badly mistaken and if they spent even 5 minutes they would realise it and it is a shame that many will not because of that, but everytime i see someone saying that due to the positive feedback from those who have played it they are giving it a go, instead of blurting out misinformed opinions. A good way to describe how this game reacts to the characters is on this image i found on imgur, http://i.imgur.com/MCl7y.jpg, so be the better person and try it.

This, omg so much this. I couldn't agree more, i just finished up the Emi story line and it hit me hard emotionally, because of her father. What happened to her is similar to what happened to me and how i dealt with it emotionally, so i resonated with her extremely well.

Anyone who claims this game was just made out of a perverse desire to take advantage of disabled girls is just ignorant.

 

[Weaver]

When i stumbled across this game it piqued my interest as i had nothing better to do & it seemed like an interesting concept to base a visual novel around. So i downloaded it and i started playing immediatly getting sucked in to the amazing story and characters, with the path i ended up doing (Lilly's) being intense & brilliant with it having points i forgot completly about her blindness, the ending itself as cliched as it was heartwrenching for me.

But my opinion on those who write this off as a something for a niche fetish audience are badly mistaken and if they spent even 5 minutes they would realise it and it is a shame that many will not because of that, but everytime i see someone saying that due to the positive feedback from those who have played it they are giving it a go, instead of blurting out misinformed opinions. A good way to describe how this game reacts to the characters is on this image i found on imgur, http://i.imgur.com/MCl7y.jpg, so be the better person and try it.

This, omg so much this. I couldn't agree more, i just finished up the Emi story line and it hit me hard emotionally, because of her father. What happened to her is similar to what happened to me and how i dealt with it emotionally, so i resonated with her extremely well.

Anyone who claims this game was just made out of a perverse desire to take advantage of disabled girls is just ignorant.

I really liked Emi's story. I feel she was absolutely and wonderfully characterized.

My roommate and friend's father was in a farming accident and is wheel chair bound and severely brain damaged. I've known him for years, and I've even met his father but it's still incredibly difficult for him to talk about it, or the accident even to me. I was only told the story once and I got the feeling it was the one and only time I was going to get to hear it. Really it was the only time I needed to.

I saw a lot of the parallels between her and him, like her skirting of topics and reluctance to talk about something so painful.

 

[Gigano]

Anyone looking for a more in-depth description of the game, from someone who's actually played it and am familiar with its genre, would be wise to check out this excellent user review [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.337440-Deskimus-Prime-Skips-A-Beat-with-Katawa-Shoujo] of Katawa Shoujo, which has just been posted here on the Escapist.

 

[Burnseasons]

Just downloaded the game and right out the gate I felt kinda bad.
Not really a spoiler since its the first scene but..

The girl confesses that she loves the main character Hisao, and he almost immediately suffers a heart attack. All I can think is that wow..She must feel horribly right now D:

 

[Crayzor]

I'd never played (read?) a visual novel before this one, but downloaded it after reading this article and a few of the comments recommending it and I have to say I can't remember the last time I got so emotionally involved in a story. The characters are not defined by their disabilities, and each have far more complete and developed personalities than I first anticipated. Particularly in Shinzune's (the deaf-mute girl) route, her disability became almost irrelevant to the story being told once it got going, and the focus was much more on the character's personalities and relationships with one another.

As a side note, I have found the least enjoyable parts to be the sex scenes, which often feel out of place (Yes, I am aware that they can be turned off in the options).

Spoiler

Especially in Hanako's route, I absolutely hated Hisao for sleeping with her when he did, especially when I found out why she let him.